Police reform, community at the heart of new Kalamazoo chief’s vision
Updated Jan 13, 2021;
KALAMAZOO, MI Police reform is not anything new at Kalamazoo Public Safety, Chief Vernon Coakley said, but it’s something he remains focused on three months into the job a job he said he is built for.
“Reform was on my mind a long time ago,” said Coakley, who took over as chief in October, said in an interview with MLive Wednesday, Jan. 13. “I’ve been in this profession for 28 years. I didn’t always do it the right way.
“1993 is when I started in law enforcement and it was about tickets, arrests and incarceration. That’s how we solved problems. As I grew to be a man, where my heart is, where my faith is, things changed for me.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled the entire justice system, making it even harder to hold people accountable for their crimes, and now more than ever we need the assistance of our community to bring an end to these egregious crimes. Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Police Chief Vernon Coakley
Here are the latest stats from our good friend at News Channel 3 Hannah Knowles:
Programs scaled back by the financial strife caused by Covid-19 have forced positive community programs like
Group Violence Initiative which have been found to help diffuse situations and prevent escalation to gun violence in the city, are no more.
2020 was a year of protests, police and change in Kalamazoo
Updated Dec 30, 2020;
Posted Dec 30, 2020
2020 in Kalamazoo was a year marked with protests, change and deeper looks at race, policy and those who lead. (Joel Bissell | MLive)
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KALAMAZOO, MI Kalamazoo in 2020 mirrored much of what was going on across the nation.
The varying affects of the coronavirus pandemic. Protests. A deeper look at racism in America. Contention in the political sphere. And changes in leadership.
After a relatively quiet start to the year, and almost eerie silence on the streets brought on by two months of COVID-driven shutdowns, things changed drastically again after George Floyd was killed May 25 by a Minneapolis police officer as two fellow officers stood by.
Kalamazoo city manager apologizes for not disclosing that police chief was fired
Updated Dec 21, 2020;
Posted Dec 21, 2020
Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema listens as community activists ask question during a press conference at City Hall in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. The press conference was held after protestors and counter protestors clashed in downtown Kalamazoo on Saturday, Aug. 15. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com
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KALAMAZOO, MI Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema apologized to the community for how his office withheld key information about former chief of public safety Karianne Thomas’s separation from the city.
Karianne Thomas was fired, the Kalamazoo Gazette confirmed in a story published in December, months after she left her position as public safety chief.
Thomas had served with KDPS as the Chief since 2017.
During a virtual meeting Monday night, City Manager Ritsema spoke on the matter, explaining why it had previously been said that she had resigned. The conversation began earlier in the meeting when an item was presented for approval, which would allow KDPS Assistant Chief of Investigations David Boysen to enter the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP).
According to city documents, KDPS members are eligible to retire with an unreduced pension at any age after 25 years of credited, or age 50 with 10 years of credited service. The program allows those approved to defer their retirement allowance for a specific period of time, as long as that period does not exceed eight years. Documents state that this program allows the city to “retain valuable, skilled employee’s and aid with succession planning.”